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Civil rights activist Laura Miti will have the challenge of seeing through her promise of demonstrating over the US$42 million fire tenders at parliament buildings this morning. Police have denied Miti’s joint Alliance for Community Action organization the right to protest at parliament building but the popular activist has insisted the march will go on as planned. Police service spokesperson Esther Katongo has warned that the protesters will be dispersed if they turn up at parliament buildings. Katongo also said that a counter demonstration spearheaded by Patriotic Front cadres seeking to render solidarity with Finance Minister Felix Mutati as he presents his budget has also been cancelled. Miti however says that the march will go as the reasons given by...

Government shutdowns of the internet have cost sub-Saharan Africa about $237 million since 2015, according to a study released Friday, as authorities increasingly implement planned disruptions. At least 12 countries have had internet shutdowns, often before elections or when protests erupt, with mobile internet networks most recently suspended in Togo during opposition demonstrations. "Internet disruptions, however short-lived, undermine economic growth, disrupt the delivery of critical services, erode business confidence, and raise a country’s risk profile," the CIPESA report said. The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) released its...

Foreign Affairs Minister Harry Kalaba has said Zambia supports United States President Donald Trump’s call, for the need to reform the United Nations Security Council. Mr. Kalaba emphasised however, that Zambia would like to see a more holistic approach, from an African perspective on the reforms, so that the global body can effectively meet the needs of African countries. Mr Kalaba said almost a third of UN membership consists of African States, yet no country from the continent is part of key decision-making, hence the need to have some with a Permanent Seat at the Security Council. The five permanent members or the Big Five are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Minister was speaking...

Zambian journalist Edem Djokotoe has taken aim at China's casino investments littered across the country arguing it is one of the worst social ills to happen. Djokotoe, posting on his Facebook page, wonders how China was allowed to channel heavy investment into gambling when it had outlawed the trade among its people. "The biggest Chinese investment in Zambia today is The Casino. "Every small town and district I have travelled to in all the provinces have gambling centres run by Chinese. "Bonanza machines luring children and adults alike in a country plagued by debilitating poverty. "With my own eyes, I have seen old people and other beneficiaries of the social cash transfer programme fritter away their money on bonanza and...

The British government says it supports the political dialogue process in Zambia, which is being spearheaded by the Commonwealth. British High Commissioner to Zambia, Fergus Cochrane-Dyet said this in a statement availed to ZNBC news in Lusaka. Mr Cochrane-Dyet said the dialogue process will lead to a road map of reforms, ahead of the 2021 general election. He has explained that the recent visit to Lusaka by the Commonwealth Secretary General’s Special Envoy to Zambia, Ibrahim Gambari marked a significant step forward. Mr Cochrane-Dyet has since commended President Edgar Lungu for his commitment to engage in the dialogue process in the interest of Zambians. He has further encouraged all the parties and stakeholders to engage in an open, consultative, respectful...

Zambia Weights and Measures Agency (ZW&MA) has seized about one Hundred underweight loaves of bread from a Shoprite outlet in Ndola to ensure that there is no risk of supplying underweight bread on the market. In a statement to Pan African Radio news, Zambia Weights and Measures Agency Public Relations Officer Mutale Chileshe said the Agency decided to carry out an inspection after receiving complaints from members of the public over suspicions of underweight bread from the retail outlet. Mr. Chileshe said according to weights and measures regulations, break shall be sold by in three prescribed weights, which is 600g, 700g and 800g and the weight must not be more than two percent in deficiency or four percent in access...

Studio 189, a label founded by actress Rosario Dawson and fashion executive Abrima Erwiah, is reinvesting in its African roots. It’s hard enough to build a fashion brand, let alone an empire. Rare is the person who makes a mission of using fashion to build communities. Such is the case with Studio 189, a label founded by longtime friends Abrima Erwiah (formerly a marketing executive at Bottega Veneta) and Rosario Dawson (an enduring star most recently seen in Netflix’s Marvel franchise). “The idea is to produce everything in local markets,” says Erwiah. “Particularly in Africa, particularly in Ghana.” The founders set up the company in partnership with the United Nations’ Ethical Fashion Initiative, which also works with such socially conscious...

Israel’s Elbit Systems Ltd said on Tuesday it won a contract worth $240 million to provide a wide array of defense electronic systems to an unnamed country in Africa. The contract, which will be carried out over a two-year period, is comprised of Directed Infra-red Counter Measure (DIRCM) systems to protect aircraft from shoulder fired missiles, based on passive infrared systems, and includes missile warning systems, radio and communication systems, land systems, mini-unmanned air systems and helicopters upgrade.

Nigeria on Tuesday recalled Arsenal forward Alex Iwobi for next month's crucial 2018 World Cup qualifier against their main rivals Zambia. The 21-year-old was ruled out of the double-header against Cameroon earlier this month with a thigh strain, but should be fit for the next game in Uyo on October 7. The Super Eagles top Group B with 10 points and with Zambia on seven and just two rounds of matches to go a win for Nigeria puts them in the finals in Russia. Also in the group but already out of contention are African champions Cameroon in third with just three while Algeria prop up the table with one point. Forward Ahmed Musa, who has yet to feature for...

African first ladies and activists hailed progress that some governments on the continent are making on gender equality. They met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. “We used to have 23 percent female representation in parliament but, with the stroke of a pen it went up to 48 percent. So, we managed to double our female representation with that decision,” said Namibia’s first lady Monica Geingos at a roundtable invitation-only event co-hosted by the Global First Ladies Alliance (GFLA) and Facebook. Geingos credited the quota enacted by the ruling SWAPO party of her husband, President Hage Geingob. But she said a similar quota might be needed for Namibia’s private sector, where only 10 to...

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) government forces have been killing civilians in an insurgency-hit region, prompting the latest influx of refugees into northern Zambia, a senior U.N. official said, citing accounts of asylum seekers. Zambia fears a looming humanitarian crisis after more than 6,000 refugees fleeing turmoil in the DRC entered its territory in one month. [L5N1M32S5] Pierrine Aylara, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) chief representative in Zambia, told Reuters that the latest asylum seekers had said they were fleeing Congolese government forces.

Zambia fears a looming humanitarian crisis after more than 6,000 refugees fleeing turmoil in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) entered its territory in one month, the presidency said on Friday. Thousands of people have been killed and more than one million forced to flee their homes in the DRC’s eastern Kasai region since the start of an insurrection nearly a year ago by the Kamuina Nsapu militia, which is demanding the withdrawal of military forces from the area. Zambia currently hosts some 59,195 refugees and other aslylum seekers, mostly from Angola, the DRC, Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia

Some part of Lusaka have started receiving normal supply of water after nearly a week of dry taps. Townships in the capital are also getting a steady supply of electricity. Many parts of the City are still, however, facing water problem following maintenance works at the Kafue Lolande According to Water and Sewage Company the complete restoration of water expected back to normal over the weekend. By Charles Sakala

CS Sfaxien and Club Africain of Tunisia and Zesco United of Zambia boast perfect CAF Confederation Cup home records this season ahead of weekend quarter-finals. Record three-time title-holders Sfaxien host FUS Rabat of Morocco trailing 1-0 after the first leg last weekend in the second-tier African club competition. Club Africain are in an identical position to Sfaxien having conceding an early goal to fall 1-0 away to Mouloudia Alger of Algeria in another all-north Africa affair. Zesco are better placed than both Tunisian outfits as they forced a 0-0 draw at SuperSport United of South Africa in a dour duel of few scoring chances. Title-holders TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo are the only second-leg hosts not to...

From deadly droughts and destroyed crops to shrinking water sources, communities across sub-Saharan Africa are struggling to withstand the onslaught of global record-breaking temperatures. But the dangers do not end there. Rising heat poses another threat - one that is far less known and studied but could spark disease epidemics across the continent, scientists say. Mosquitoes are the menace, and the risk goes beyond malaria. The Aedes aegypti mosquito, which spreads debilitating and potentially deadly viruses, from Zika and dengue to chikungunya, thrives in warmer climates than its malaria-carrying cousin, known as Anopheles, say researchers at Stanford University. In sub-Saharan Africa, this means malaria rates could rise in cooler areas as they heat up, but fall in hotter places that...

Zambia, Africa's second biggest producer of copper, saw export earnings from the red metal increasing by 49.7 percent in the first half of 2017, figures released by its finance ministry said on Thursday. Earnings from copper earnings rose to 3,165.9 million U.S. dollars during the first half of 2017 from 2,114.3 million dollars over the same period last year, according to figures published in the 2018-2020 medium term expenditure framework released by the ministry. This has been attributed to an increase in both export volumes and copper prices on the international market. Realized copper prices averaged 5,655.4 dollars per ton during the first half of 2017 compared to 4,499.3 dollars during the same period of last year. The southern African...

Zambian President Edgar Lungu on Thursday called for international support to contain the high number of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) nationals seeking for asylum. Zambia has seen an influx of DRC nationals in recent weeks fleeing from unrest in some parts of that country. Lungu said he was concerned over the high number of the asylum seekers entering the country and needed assistance to take care of them. The Zambian leader expressed concern during a high-level side meeting on the refugee satiation at the ongoing United Nations (UN) General Assembly in New York, according to a statement released by his office. Zambia, he said, will need international support to enable the country manage the influx of the asylum seekers...

Makers of generic AIDS drugs will start churning out millions of pills for Africa containing a state-of-the-art medicine widely used in rich countries, after securing a multi-million dollar guarantee that caps prices at just $75 per patient a year. Global health experts hope the deal will help address two looming problems in the HIV epidemic - the rising threat of resistance developing to standard AIDS drugs, and the need for more investment in manufacturing capacity. Bill Gates’ charitable foundation will guarantee minimum sales volumes of the new combination pills using dolutegravir, a so-called integrase inhibitor that avoids the drug resistance that often develops with older treatments. In return the drugmakers, India-based Mylan Laboratories and Aurobindo Pharma, will agree the maximum...

Zambia will resume talks with the International Monetary Fund on an aid program in October and hopes to get IMF board approval by the end of the year, one of its finance officials said on Tuesday. The country , which is Africa’s second-biggest copper producer, has suffered from the steep commodity price drop of recent years. Last March, it began talks with the IMF about a potential loan package after agreeing that its budget deficit was not sustainable. “The engagement with the fund is pretty advanced. We have addressed most of the structural issues and agreed to them,” Finance Permanent Secretary Mukuli Chikuba said during the launch of a mid-year economic report. “The work that is remaining with the IMF...

Zambia borrowed $134 million from Standard Chartered Plc to help fund the road sector, according to a finance ministry official. The borrowing plan was included in the 2017 budget, Mukuli Chikuba, permanent secretary at the finance ministry, said in a text message on Tuesday. The loan is the second that Standard Chartered has arranged for the government since a $450 million syndicated deal in the first half of 2016. Five new loans worth $296 million were contracted in the first half of the year, according to the ministry’s mid-year economic review. The country’s external debt grew to $7.4 billion by the end of June, the report shows. Zambia, Africa’s second-biggest copper producer, is in talks to secure a $1.3 billion...